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Sun, 01/07/2024 02:43:00 +0100 b01/07/2024 02:43 c
Updated: July 1, 2024 2:43 a.m. Issued: July 1, 2024 2:43 a.m
Meeting of NATO defense ministers. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is pictured in Brussels on October 13, 2022. ČTK/AP/Olivier Matthys
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Saturday that he takes full responsibility for keeping his hospital stay secret. This was reported today by the Reuters agency, according to which Austin had not even stated what health problems he had been in the hospital with since Monday. It was only on Friday that the Pentagon first reported the hospitalization of 70-year-old Austin.
“I realize that I could have informed the public better. I am committed to doing better,” said Austin, whose actions have come under fire. The Pentagon has so far explained why it kept secret the hospitalization of the politician, who is the second-in-command of the US military after President Joe Biden and whose duties require him to be available at all times to respond to any national security crisis.
It also remains unclear whether Austin has been unconscious since he was admitted to Walter Reed Military Hospital in Maryland on Jan. 1 or to what extent Deputy Kathleen Hicks has taken over his duties. The Pentagon said only that Austin had complications from a recent medical procedure, without elaborating.
Since Friday he is said to have been fully carrying out his duties in the hospital. It is still unclear when he will be released.
Austin is in the hospital at a time when tensions are high in the Middle East due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas. US troops have been repeatedly exposed to attacks in recent weeks due to the conflict, for example in Iraq and Syria.
The Military Journalists Association has written a letter to Pentagon officials criticizing the government for keeping Austin’s hospitalization secret. According to journalists, this is a public figure who has no right to privacy when it comes to health in such a situation.
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